Deukmejian, Honig Argue Budget Stand Before PTA

Gov. George Deukmejian defended his tight education budget in a speech to 2,100 members of the California PTA on Tuesday, telling the school volunteers at their annual convention in Orange County that the “crusade for dollars” should be turned into a “crusade for scholars” with parents taking the lead.

“Money alone will not improve the quality of education our children need and deserve,” Deukmejian told the PTA delegates, adding that students today spend too much time watching television and too little time reading.

Deukmejian was followed to the podium by state school Supt. Bill Honig, his sharpest critic in the fight over education finances. It was the first back-to-back appearance between the two elected officials since their feud began in January when the governor introduced his proposed $19-billion program to finance kindergarten through high school education programs and Honig called it “a disaster.”

Warns of Austerity Measures

Honig, claiming that school programs will be at least $600 million short under the governor’s budget proposal, has been mobilizing parents and teachers to fight for more money, warning that the alternatives will be teacher layoffs, reduced instruction days and other austerity measures.

Clearly, many of Honig’s supporters were in the audience in the Anaheim Convention Center.

The school superintendent’s speech was repeatedly interrupted by applause as he touched on the political pressure points he is using in his battle with Deukmejian: the need for increased financial aid for school districts to help keep pace with inflation, higher salaries for teachers, more and better textbooks and help to reduce overcrowded classrooms.

In contrast, Deukmejian’s message was one of trying to work with limited financial resources while striving to improve academic excellence beginning at home.

Deukmejian noted that his first four budgets contained large spending increases for schools. Even under his proposed budget for the next fiscal year, Deukmejian said, public schools would receive a 4.5% increase, more than twice the average 2% increases he is proposing for state government overall.

Expressing concern about the criticism he is receiving from Honig and others, Deukmejian said education is his top spending priority, though it has to be balanced against other priorities such as his opposition to a tax increase.

A large number of PTA members, though they want more funding for education, also oppose a tax increase and the governor was applauded when he said: “Many of my critics want to raise taxes. I don’t.”

In shifting the emphasis of his speech from money in the budget to asking parents to take more responsibility for the education of their children, Deukmejian said: “It has been estimated, for example, that fifth-graders spend an average of only four minutes a night reading, but 130 minutes a night watching TV.

“As our children’s first and most influential teachers, parents are advised to spend as much time as possible talking and listening to their children, reading to them when they are young and instilling in them a desire to read, write, compute and be able also to use their artistic talent,” he said.

Administrators Cited

At another point, Deukmejian also said school administrators could be doing a better job. He noted that some school districts receiving below average levels of state financial support had produced “exemplary” schools.

“Why is it that some schools, with the same or even less resources, do a better job of educating their children than other schools?” he asked.

Deukmejian, like Honig, has a longstanding kinship with PTA members. The governor’s wife, Gloria, has long been active in the PTA. After the governor’s speech, she was named honorary PTA membership chairman for the upcoming year.

During interviews, several PTA members who said they voted for the governor expressed disappointment with his budget policies.

Helen Cohen of Santa Monica, coordinator of legislation for the state PTA, said getting more money for public schools is the group’s top goal. The PTA is organizing a statewide letter-writing campaign to pressure the governor and legislators to increase the level of funding in the budget.

“We have studied the governor’s budget. We are not happy with it,” said Cohen, one of those who said she had voted for the governor.

Cecilia Fink, a PTA delegate from Chino, said of Deukmejian: “I’m disappointed in him. If we don’t make sure our kids have the best materials, what kind of future will they have?”